Why do Samurais carry two swords in general?

Question

What are their use.

Answer 1

Carrying two swords was the mark of a samurai, a priviledged class particularly in the Edo Period.

The longer blade was the Katana which was a samurai's principle fighting blade - though they'd make use of a variety of weapons such as spear, bow, and gun from the mid-16th century onward.

The shorter blade was either a short sword Wazikashi or short dagger Tanto. This blade could be used for a variety of purposes:

*in close-quarters fighting where a Katana would be at a disadvantage

*as a last measure of protection/defense - samurai would sometimes be required to surrender their weapons when meeting with rivals or lords but would allowed to carry their smaller blade which in case of treachery they could make use of.

*protection at night - samurai often slept with either the wakizashi or tanto under the pillow or close at hand in case of attack

*for throwing - musashi miyamoto used the wakizashi for this purpose

*fighting style with two swords - again Miyamoto used this style of fighting using both the katana and wakizashi

*seppeku: ritual suicide. Generally the tanto was used for this grisly operation of cutting the guts open

*claiming heads - wakizashi was often used to "collect" the heads of fallen foes

Answer 2

The longer sword ( katana ) was the fighting sword and was lethal in the hands of a samurai warrior.

It was specially forged in a manner which allowed a finely honed sharp blade with the strength of harder steel by combining different types of steel

The sword was a two handed weapon designed to achieve a high impact rate but they were used to slice rather than hack.

As a result of training since a teenager they learnt combinations of strokes, some of which were feints to open up the defences of the opponent, and it is reported that a competent warrior could segment a body depending upon what opening an opponent presented.

The shorter sword was more like a dagger but its sole purpose was for the owner to commit Hari Kiri for males and seppuku for woman

The male version was to plunge the sword into the abdomen drag it sideways through the intestines and then upwards. If that was done bravely he would lean forward and his second would decapitate him.

In the case of a woman she would drive it up from the windpipe into the brain.

The Movie Shogun and the book of the same name is well worth a look and read. The book goes into greater detail than the movie does.

Answer 3

By the end of the Tokugawa era, Samurai were aristocratic bureaucrats for the daimyo, with their daisho, the paired long and short swords of the Samurai; the katana and the wakizashi becoming more of a symbolic emblem of power rather than a weapon used in daily life.

The katana was typically paired with the wakizashi or shōtō, a similarly made but shorter sword, both worn by the members of the warrior class. It could also be worn with the tantō, an even smaller similarly shaped blade.

The two weapons together were called the daishō, and represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai. The long blade was used for open combat, while the shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing, close quarters combat, decapitating beaten opponents when taking heads on the battlefield, and seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.

Answer 4

The long sword for outdoors and in places with room to swing it and the short sword for indoors in small spaces such as hallways and other confined areas so that they were never without the ability to defend themselves or attack a foe. The long sword could not be used well in confined areas because it would hit walls and such and could not be swung or maneuvered effectually.

Answer 5

the samurai carry a long blade (katana) as their main weapon for defense and attack, the shorter blade is used for parry attacks, preparing food, hunting, and its ultimate duty, Harri-Cari. it is the blade the samurai uses to take his own life when he has been defeated or shamed.

(because the katana is too long to stab oneself in the stomach)

Answer 6

The long sword is for fighting and the short one is to commit hara-kiri or, suicide, when fate compelled it.

Answer 7

One is for the peanut butter and one is for the jelly. They don't like to mix them in the jar.